~CHAPTER 36~
“…What is this?”
“It’s an unpublished side story that contains the aftermath of .”
Dianu put special emphasis on the word unpublished.
Elpenlira glanced between Dianu’s face and the bundle of papers in her hand.
Her eyes were so wide it looked like they might roll out at any moment.
A hand shot out like lightning and snatched the manuscript.
Elpenlira flipped through the pages that Dianu had spent the last ten days translating and muttered in a grim voice.
“This… is in Arasas.”
“Exactly. If you want to read this one and only copy in the world, you’ll have to study Arasas, my lady.”
It was the first time Dianu had seen Elpenlira look this fierce since she dragged her out of the Spruce Palace banquet hall.
But Dianu pretended not to notice and simply pointed to herself with a bright smile.
“I’ll help you read a little more in every lesson.”
“Where’s the original?”
“I returned it to Lady Karelina, of course.”
Elpenlira shot up as if she might scream any moment.
But the moment her eyes met Dianu’s, she seemed to change her mind and sat back down.
“Fine. I’ll just learn it and read it.”
“Good choice. I’m sure you’ll be able to read it soon.”
“…Can you at least tell me roughly what it’s about?”
Her triangular eyebrows looked quite pitiful.
Dianu glanced at Sir Roysen, who was standing guard by the library door, then beckoned Elpenlira closer.
Lowering her voice, she whispered.
“Oliana and Sir Giles are very! Passionately!”
Elpenlira’s eyes widened.
“Engaging in romantic behavior!”
Since parental approval could not be obtained, the governess had no choice but to make her own judgment.
And that decision seemed to be working.
Elpenlira muttered something unbefitting a noble lady as she opened her Catalos–Arasas dictionary and grammar book.
Her green eyes burned with determination.
Right. I should finish what I start.
Dianu Ortensa would teach Elpenlira Catalos until the girl married.
That was her duty as the princess’s governess.
They had only returned to the starting point.
There was nothing wrong with that.
* * *
Near the end of that day’s lesson, Countess Ornin sent for her.
Dianu pried herself away from Elpenlira, who begged to read just one more sentence, and headed to the chief lady-in-waiting’s office.
The princess’s lady-in-waiting greeted her from behind her desk.
Dianu bowed politely.
“Welcome, Miss Ortensa. Please have a seat.”
Dianu sat in the guest chair across the desk.
Countess Ornin rested her chin on her interlocked fingers and looked at Dianu.
“Her Highness has been studying very well lately, so the atmosphere in Oak Palace is wonderful. It’s all thanks to you.”
“You flatter me.”
“And regarding what happened at Spruce Palace… anyone would admit how much you accomplished.”
The lavish praise left her flustered.
Countess Ornin placed something on the desk before her.
It was an elegant sheet of paper sealed with wax.
She gestured for Dianu, who was blinking in confusion, to open it.
It was a check issued by the Imperial Bank.
Recipient: Dianu Ortensa.
Issuer: Rision Catalos.
Amount… ?
“Huh?”
Dianu brought the check closer to her eyes and counted the zeros again.
Her trembling gaze lifted to Countess Ornin.
The woman met her stare with a kind yet businesslike expression.
“My lady… what is this…?”
“Your salary.”
“My… salary.”
“Yes. Since you are working as Her Highness’s governess, you should naturally be paid.”
“This isn’t the salary of a governess…”
“The one who pays decides what the pay is.”
Her tone left no room for argument.
Dianu set the check back down with trembling hands.
She had never touched such money in her life.
She never expected to.
Even so, she didn’t feel the slightest bit happy.
With a check stamped with an imperial seal capable of moving mountains and redirecting rivers lying between them, the governess and the lady-in-waiting remained silent for a long time.
Dianu spoke first.
“My lady.”
“Yes, Miss Ortensa.”
“I… never wanted anything like this.”
Countess Ornin nodded calmly.
“I know. You only fulfilled the duty His Majesty entrusted to you. But if His Majesty wishes to reward you, accepting it is the duty of a subject.”
In other words, regardless of how she felt, if the emperor wanted to give it, she could not refuse.
“Do you have a family lawyer in the capital?”
“Managing this amount is difficult, so you should leave it with the lawyer of the Erbinjel Grand Duchy. I’ll write to the Grand Duchess myself. Take a day off and go.”
The countess continued speaking about Elpenlira’s lessons and official schedule, but Dianu barely heard any of it.
She nodded mechanically and fled the office as soon as it was polite to do so.
Her steps were heavy as she returned to her room with the check pressed to her chest.
I’ll never have to work as a governess again.
Even the interest and investment income alone would be enough to live on.
And with a dowry, I could even get married.
She had jumped from being a poor young lady who had to make up for her lack of dowry with her looks and manners to someone suitors would chase for her dowry.
Dianu could now choose the man she wanted and marry proudly.
Her mechanical steps stopped in a quiet corridor.
Dianu braced herself against the wall and lowered her head.
For some reason, she felt like shouting at the sky.
This is like… a farewell gift, isn’t it?
If it was, it was the worst gift she had ever received from him.
* * *
Dianu tried to accept reality.
She had known Rision Catalos for far fewer days than she hadn’t.
And she would live far longer without seeing him than with seeing him.
He was an admirable man by anyone’s standards.
Kind, intelligent, pleasant to talk to, and someone with whom she had shared many experiences.
It was natural that her heart wavered for a moment.
But fundamentally, she and Rision belonged to different worlds.
A series of coincidences had allowed them to walk the same path for a short time.
This was the natural and inevitable outcome.
And it wasn’t as if she would never see him again.
If she accompanied Elpenlira to official events, she could at least see him from afar.
All she had to do was quietly sort out the sadness of not being able to look at him and talk to him freely anymore.
“Teacher.”
The problem was that her student, whom she had to face every day, resembled the man she needed to forget far too much.
“My face is going to wear out. Why do you keep staring at me?”
“Ah… sorry. My mind wandered for a moment.”
When Dianu sighed deeply, Elpenlira tilted her head, resting her chin on her hand.
“Still haven’t made up with my brother?”
“It’s not like that…”
She couldn’t explain the truth to Elpenlira.
Which was why the princess was still under the ridiculous impression that Dianu and Rision had “argued.”
“Hmm… Want me to tell you something fun?”
Elpenlira glanced at Sir Roysen by the door, then motioned for Dianu to come closer.
Puzzled, Dianu leaned in.
Elpenlira lowered her voice dramatically.
“This is top secret…”
Dianu tensed up.
“My brother…”
“His Majesty…?”
“…Can’t sing.”
She thought she had misheard.
Elpenlira continued with a serious face.
“During the coronation, the emperor has to sing the first line of the anthem. He practiced for a month and still couldn’t hit the notes.”
Dianu collapsed onto the desk making a strange sound that wasn’t quite laughter or crying.
Sir Roysen glanced over in confusion, but Elpenlira frowned and he quickly looked away.
Her stomach hurt from laughing so much.
Dianu wiped at the tears collecting in her eyes and managed to lift her head.
“How… how can he not sing something even a five-year-old can? His voice… hic… is nice too.”
“He can’t be good at everything.”
Watching Dianu cover her flushed face with both hands, Elpenlira spoke leisurely.
“By the way, he can’t draw either. When we were little, he drew some mythical monster and said it was me—”
“…”
“…Teacher?”
There was tension in Elpenlira’s voice.
Dianu suddenly realized her cheeks were hot.
“Ah…”
“…”
“I… I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m like this.”
She wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks, but the more she wiped, the more they spilled out.
It was Sir Roysen who handed her a handkerchief.
Dianu murmured her thanks and hurried to blot her face.
The thick handkerchief was quickly soaked and became useless.
She wasn’t even sad or upset, but it felt like the sky had burst open and tears were pouring out for no reason.
Dianu kept wiping without understanding why she was crying so hard.
Elpenlira sighed.
“What did my brother do wrong to you?”
“No! Absolutely nothing!”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s… um… the trials and hardships everyone goes through at least once in life.”
Elpenlira’s sharp gaze made it clear she wasn’t pleased.
But why she wasn’t pleased was unclear, which made it worse.
Dianu forced a smile.
“Shall we continue the lesson?”
Fortunately, Elpenlira silently picked up her quill.
Dianu let out a sigh of relief only in her heart.
